


hear the voices sing (hallelujah)

by waywardaussies



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Bar Singer Ashton, College, M/M, malum are barely there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-04-01 02:55:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4003177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waywardaussies/pseuds/waywardaussies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Why do you love this song so much?” Ashton asked one day as Luke blasted the radio which was playing "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen while they were laying on the couch.</p><p>“It was my parent’s wedding song. It was the first song they listened to together as a couple, and my mother loves it.” Luke explained, head lolled back as the music covered his body with happiness and sentiment. </p><p>Ashton nodded, arm wrapped around Luke’s shoulder as they listened to the track. “It’s a beautiful song.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Luke agreed lazily. As his eyes drifted close with sleep, he mumbled out, “I’d love it to be my wedding song…” Not even sure if Ashton heard him.</p><p>Ashton heard him.</p><p>~*~</p><p>Ashton is a bar singer and Luke falls in love with his voice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	hear the voices sing (hallelujah)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [strangebyler](https://archiveofourown.org/users/strangebyler/gifts).



> guys. guys i made my friend cry when we were talking about this head canon. 
> 
> ok so i HIGHLY suggest listening to this cover of Hallelujah because Ashton is going to be doing the same thing as the man in the video does while singing this song.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVpqk_3uKNY
> 
> i hope you guys enjoy :)

Luke never thought his life would change so drastically just by walking into a run down looking bar. The ‘Backseat Asylum’ bar was where everyone went, especially the students from the nearby college, which Luke was attending. Being a freshman, though, it was hard for Luke to get a drink. Sure he was legal, but the bartenders were still sticklers with giving a newly legal kid beer. So Luke stopped trying to get a drink from the overly stern bartenders, and went to the bar to hear the performers.

He enjoyed all the people that performed, some may not be his taste, but he never was rude to those that wanted to do what they truly loved. If anything, Luke was jealous of these people; his fear of crowds held him back from doing such things. 

So that’s how it happened, Luke was watching the performers while waiting for his next class, enjoying the music that filled the old bar. The girl that was just up sang a few songs and frankly, she wasn’t Luke’s style. But he still clapped for her as she exited the stage. Then, Luke saw a boy walk up on the stage, guitar hanging from his shoulder and a bright grin taking up his entire face. Luke was hypnotized by the way this boy carried himself, showing no fear, eyes sparkling as he approached the mic. 

“Hey guys! I’m going to sing some songs for you, is that cool?” The crowd clapped, showing their ok as the boy smiled and began to sing. It was an All Time Low song, a slowed down version of ‘Dear Maria, Count Me In’ and if it was possible to fall in love with a voice, Luke was falling, hard. 

Luke watched as the boy took the small make-shift stage and made it his metaphoric bitch, holding the crowd’s attention in the palm of his hand (Luke being one of them). As the boy finished his first song, he sang another, this time a song Luke didn’t really know. But it didn’t matter, cause it just might be Luke’s new favorite song because of the way the boy sang it. 

After a few more songs, the boy gave the crowd a winning smile as he bowed and walked off the stage. the crowd cheered (some even whistled) and were basically begging for an encore. Luke was stunned, mouth open as the next person walked on stage.

“He’s amazing, isn’t he?” a voice said from next to him. Luke snap out of his daze, turning to the voice and saw a guy about his age with dark curly hair and a blonde streak in it (Luke wasn’t sure if he thought it suited the guy or looked ridiculous). “His name is Ashton and is a junior at Sydney U.”

Luke didn’t speak for a second, mind still processing the fact that angelic voice man has a name (a very cute name) and actually goes to Luke’s college.

“You seem interested in the guy, so I thought I’d tell you. He likes it when people go over to him and compliment his performance.” the boy said, still talking as Luke just stared. “Not in a cocky way, but in a ‘wants criticism but mostly gets compliments cause he’s perfect’ way. You should go over there and talk to him.”

“T-Thanks.” Luke stuttered out, getting up off the chair and walking over to the stage, where he saw Ashton talking to a few of the other performers, and Luke instantly felt anxiety. What if the guy didn’t want to speak to Luke? What if he found the younger boy annoying? What if he made fun of the compliments? 

Luke almost turned to leave. 

But he didn’t.

Or, Ashton saw Luke walking towards him and gave the younger boy a wide smile—like the one he gave to the crowd before—and Luke felt his knees turn to jelly. Luke took the last few steps towards Ashton, hands frantically searching for something to do, so they decided to shove themselves into his pockets.

“Uh… you were extremely—wait, no! …You were amazing. Like, r-really amazing.” Luke felt his face heat up under the eyes of Ashton (his eyes were so bright! And hazel just might be Luke’s new favorite favorite eye color). 

Ashton smiled so wide, his cheeks causing his eyes to squint. “Thank you so much. I’m really glad you liked it.”

And that was it. Ashton was dragged away by one of his friends—a guy with really ugly blue hair, which was obviously dyed—and Luke just watched, voice caught in his own throat with words he wished he actually said. Like “you’re face is as beautiful as your voice” or “I’d love to hear you again sometime. When do you normally perform?” You know, anything besides making him look like a moron.

Luke really thought that was the end. That he missed his chance.

That is, until a few weeks later.

Luke decided to go back to the Backseat Asylum, in hopes that Ashton was performing again. He didn’t want to seem like a weirdo, but he couldn’t get his voice out of his head. It was a mix of raspy and hard, yet angelic and enticing. But most importantly, it was Ashton’s eyes that were the lingering factor in his dreams. They weren’t even a real color, just a beautiful blend of all the brightest colors in the world. 

Luke could have sworn he was in love with the guy.

He sat in the chair near the back, not wanting to be seen by the beautiful boy in fear that he would remember him and mock him for their last interaction. As he watched the other people perform, he only thought about Ashton. It wasn’t long till the boy finally got up on stage, earning a cheer from the crowd. 

“How’s everyone today?” Ashton asked brightly. “How about we start this shing-ding.” 

He sang his songs and Luke’s heart swelled in his chest. The blonde boy didn’t think he could ever feel this way over a guy’s voice, but here he was, face reddening and heart beating so fast in his chest. 

It felt like Ashton was finished quicker than the last time Luke heard him sing, and that upset the boy. But despite his sadness, he got up and made his way over to the boy, noticing that he was alone this time. After taking a deep breath, Luke reached forward and tapped Ashton’s shoulder. 

Ashton turned around and saw the same boy from a few weeks ago and smiled. “Hey, I didn’t think you’d come back. I missed ya the last few performances.”

Luke stared for a moment, drowning himself in the fact that Ashton said he “missed him”. If it was possible for Luke’s heart to explode, it would have right now.

“Y-Yeah sorry. College is a bitch.” Luke said lamely. 

“Oh, I know. Been in the Hell Hole for 3 years now. You’d think I’d be used to it by now. But I’m still hopelessly confused in everything.” Ashton conversed casually, as if he has known Luke forever. And that’s sort of how it felt, even though Luke’s words were awkward and his hands didn’t know where to go and Ashton didn’t even know the boy’s name. It was like they were friends in a past life. 

“I-I just wanted to say great show… again.” Luke said then turned to leave. He missed Ashton’s sad expression, hoping to have talked to the boy a bit longer. But as Luke took a few steps in the opposite direction, a shot of courage pushed through his veins, sending his mind into a foggy haze as he turned quickly on his heels and strode over to Ashton again. The older boy was just about to turn and leave before noticing the boy coming back. 

Ashton tilted his head a bit in confusion, not entirely sure what the boy wanted to say.

“I-I’m sorry,” the boy said. “It’s just that… I’ve been thinking about your voice and your face for weeks now and I wasn’t even sure it was possible to fall in love with someone’s voice, but I fell in love with yours. And I know how creepy that sounds, I’m sorry. I also just realized that you don’t even know my name.” He took a breath before looking in Ashton’s eyes and giving him a small smile and fuck he has a dimple. “I’m Luke, and I was hoping you’d allow me to take you out on a date.”

The boldness hit Ashton like a brick, not sure how to respond at first, until he gave the boy—Luke, such a beautiful name—a smile and nodded. “Sure. I’d love to go on a date with you.”

Luke didn’t think that would work. He was expecting Ashton to think he was weird and make fun of his request. He sure as hell wasn’t expecting him to agree and say yes!

“G-Great… Meet me here tomorrow at… 8?” Luke asked, squinting his eyes a bit as he waited for Ashton to answer. The older boy smiled and nodded. “Great… That’s great. See you then.” Luke smiled one last time at Ashton, then turned around to leave. Ashton was blushing like a fool for the rest of the day.

Luke was sure he was going to throw up.

~*~ 

He didn’t throw up. In fact, after that date—now 3 years ago—he didn’t feel sick at all. 

Maybe love sick, but that wasn’t a terrible feeling. It made Luke’s insides glow and flutter every time he saw Ashton. 

The two boys were going strong. Ashton was still singing at the Backseat Asylum, but getting his masters in music education. Luke was now a senior at Sydney University and majoring in mathematics. They owned an apartment together and have been living in it for a year. Luke also worked in the nearby elementary school as an assistant teacher for a 3rd grade class. 

Luke was loving life right now. He had a beautiful boyfriend, a great job, a wonderful future ahead of him as a teacher. He even befriended the boy that gave Luke the courage to talk to Ashton for the first time (his name is Calum) and even got to know the boy with the blue—now black—hair, Michael. 

Ashton was loving his life as well. He never thought he’d find love so young in his life, but it didn’t matter how young him and Luke were; he was sure Luke was the one. Three years with the boy—no longer a boy, but a man—and Ashton was sure that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Luke.

Which is why they were in the Backseat Asylum. 

Ashton had a gig and Luke came to support him (like he always does). Luke normally sits on the side of the stage, so as to not distract Ashton while he was performing. Also, it gave the blonde a wonderful view of his boyfriend’s face as he plucked at his guitar, light shining on his face and eyes sparkling. Luke was in love with that image of Ashton, the one that he first fell in love with, and will forever be in love with.

But Ashton turned to Luke and gave him a small smile and kissed his cheek and said, “Babe, do you mind sitting in the front for today’s show?”

Luke was confused, but didn’t want to say no to his boyfriend. So he smiled and nodded, causing Ashton to grin widely and kiss Luke’s lips before he was instructed that he was on next. Ashton pulled away from the familiarity of Luke’s touch and winked at the younger man, then got up on the small stage.

“Hi guys. Hope you don’t mind but I’d like to sing some songs for you.” Ashton told the crowd, who were still as enthused to see Ashton perform. He sang a few covers, and even an original he was working on.

(Luke helped him write it one night after the two of them made love. They were tangled in the sheets as Ashton lazily traced the lines of Luke’s face, letting out a sigh.

“We should write a song together. I know how much you love writing poems and stuff.” Ashton said breathlessly. Luke looked down at Ashton and smiled.

“Sure, but first, we sleep.” Luke held onto Ashton and cuddling into him, letting out a sigh as sleep took over his body.)

After those were done, Ashton smiled as the crowd cheered, but he silenced them with the wave of his hand. “So this song is for someone very special to me. I love him so much and we’ve been together for three years and they have been the best three years of my life. And I was hoping we could have many more amazing years together.” 

(“Why do you love this song so much?” Ashton asked one day as Luke blasted the radio which was playing Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen while they were laying on the couch.

“It was my parent’s wedding song. It was the first song they listened to together as a couple, and my mother loves it.” Luke explained, head lolled back as the music covered his body with happiness and sentiment. 

Ashton nodded, arm wrapped around Luke’s shoulder as they listened to the track. “It’s a beautiful song.”

“Yeah,” Luke agreed lazily. As his eyes drifted close with sleep, he mumbled out, “I’d love it to be my wedding song…” Not even sure if Ashton heard him.

Ashton heard him.)

Luke felt tears brimming his eyes. He watched as Ashton tuned his guitar for a moment, then looked down at Luke with a small smile as he started strumming. Luke clasped his hand over his mouth as the chords took up the entire bar. No one spoke a word, nothing made a sound as Ashton sang the first line. 

“I heard there was a secret chord, that David played and it pleased the Lord. But you don’t really care for music, do ya?”

Luke’s hand was shaking, tears streaming down his face. He probably looked so ugly right now, but part of him couldn’t care. The crowd was still silent until Ashton got to the chorus of “Hallelujahs” and he breathlessly said, “Sing.”

Instantly, everyone in the bar sung “Hallelujah” as Ashton back away from the mic stand, letting the people sing. He spared a glance at Luke, who was sobbing at this point. The voices of the people in the bar echoing throughout the small room, Ashton’s smooth strumming and his angelic voice sending chills down Luke’s spine. 

“Oh baby I’ve been here before. I’ve seen this room and I’ve walked this floor. You know I used to live alone before I knew ya. And I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch. Oh love is not a victory march. It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah.”

The chorus of “Hallelujahs” came from the crowd again. Luke’s cheeks were stained with his tears and his lower lip was caught between his teeth. Suddenly, Ashton went to the side of the stage and handed his guitar to a guy, who started to strum the chords of the song. The guy instructed everyone to continue singing the chorus as he played silently. 

Luke was so confused, but when Ashton came over to where Luke was, holding out his hand, Luke’s heart nearly stopped. The tears fell hard from his eyes as he accepted Ashton’s hand. Ashton smiled and pulled Luke up to his feet and lead them both to the stage. 

Ashton held both of Luke’s hands, giving him another smile before getting down on one knee in front of him.

Luke let out a choked sob, letting go of Ashton’s hands to cover his mouth. Ashton reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. 

“Lucas Robert Hemmings, will you make me the happiest man on this Earth and be my husband?”

Luke wasn’t even sure if he answered Ashton, just let out another sob as he pulled Ashton up to his feet and kissed his lips deeply. His fingers tangled in Ashton’s hair and his body shaking from happiness and joy and love. Ashton’s hands cupped Luke’s face, whipping away his tears with his thumb as his lips kissed Luke’s repeatedly. 

When they finally pulled away, they noticed that no one was cheering. The room of people were still singing Hallelujah, voices almost heavenly as they watched the two boys kiss and embrace.


End file.
